When you exchanged marriage vows with your spouse and promised to love, honor and care for him or her till death do you part, the last thing that was probably on your mind was the fact that over time, your relationship could fall apart. Yet close to half of all marriages in the United States today end in divorce.
When A Relationship Fails
When a couple goes through a divorce, the results can be financially, physically and emotionally overwhelming. This is because you are not only giving up your dreams of growing old together, but you are also dividing your assets, taking on the expenses of two households instead of one and probably hiring a lawyer (or two) to help you hash out the details of your legal parting. In addition to draining your wallet, the stress that comes along with these changes can take its toll on your health and your mind-set. Therefore, it can help to educate yourself about your options and take control of the process.
Dividing Your Assets
Divorce is more than just a dissolving of your partnership. If you’ve been married for a while, you and your spouse also will likely have a variety of joint assets that will have to be fairly divided up when you part ways. This can include a house, cars, furniture, electronics, investments and savings accounts. If you have children together, the stakes get higher as you iron out who gets child custody. You will also need to work out visitation rights and child support payments. Further, if one person is the primary breadwinner, he or she may also be required to make alimony payments to help cover some of the spouse’s living expenses.
What You Should Know
Do you need to hire a lawyer? If you have no children, few assets and anticipate that an amicable divorce is likely, you might be able to work with your partner to decide the fine details of the arrangements and avoid legal representation entirely, or at least keep it to a minimum. This will save you considerable time, expense and stress. But in the real world, often couples getting a divorce simply cannot work together to end their partnership. They need the help of an expert to protect their best interests and help them come to some important decisions. If this is true in your case, you will want to find a lawyer who specializes in divorce proceedings. You can ask family, friends and colleagues for recommendations, or you can do a search online to find one in your area. You can also check with The American Bar Association or The American Association of Matrimonial Attorneys' online directory to find someone to represent your case.